Camp Shred Goes Off At The Cardiff Campgrounds

Camp Shred Goes Off At The Cardiff Campgrounds

With over 3,000 surf stoked consumers cruising through the San Elijo State Campgrounds over the course of the weekend, the first ever “Camp Shred” was a huge success. For surfers, the event was like being a kid in a candy store as boards of all shapes and sizes were offered up for a test drive in the fun, two-to-three foot surf that was on tap all weekend. Along with myriad surfboards; wetsuits, trunks, fins, headphones, skateboards, soft tops, and even Subaru vehicles were offered up for consumers to take for a spin.

With the sun shining and the cold Pacificos flowing in the beer garden, one of North County’s favorite bands, Yovee, jammed into the afternoon on Sunday and capped off what could only be described as epic weekend of fun in the sun. Everyone went home sunburned, surfed out, stoked, and smelling like a campfire. TransWorld SURF would like to thank Camp Shred sponsors Surf Ride, Pacifico, HoodieBuddie, California State Parks, FM 94.9, Subaru, Mizu, House of Marley, Keep A Breast, and all of the vendors that participated. A portion of the proceeds benefit our beloved California State Parks system. For more photos go to #campshred on instagram. Check out some product reviews from the TransWorld SURF edit staff below…

5’4” JS “Pier Pony”
Right off the bat I thought it’d tough to ride such a short board in the mushy little waves on offer Sunday. Boy was I wrong. The Pier Pony has a nice wide nose that allows you to paddle really good for such a short board. Once I was up and riding the thing had some squirt, too. It really projected through sections and made the gutless surf fun. If you don’t want to Longboard on small days this is a great addition to your quiver.—Justin Cotéjsindustries.com

5’6” Firewire/Tomo Surfboards Collab
Every person I talked to who rode one of these odd looking boards from Tomo was raving—but I didn’t feel the same stoke. My foot kept falling off the back of it, and I wasn’t used to a board being so narrow. I think the small, mushy waves I surfed it in were the opposite conditions it was created for—it felt like it would go great at a hollow beachbreak where the narrow outline would fit into the curve of the wave. I gotta take this bad boy for a spin on a different day to get the Stu Kennedy vibe going.—JCfirewiresurfboards.com

Channel Islands Weirdo Ripper 5’6” x 19” x 2 ¼”
With near flat waves and fog on the weekend forecast, I arrived to Camp Shred midday Saturday with the essentials for everything except for surf, i.e. a tent and beer. But lo-and-behold, contrary to what the Internet said, the weather was beautiful and the waves actually fun—a perfect weekend for the first annual hybrid tradeshow/demo on the sand. After a few Pacifico’s I decided to partake in the shredding, and grabbed a nice new comfy 4/3 West Wetsuit and a 5’6” Channel Islands Weirdo Ripper designed by Yadin Nicol, and joined the masses in the chest high, glassy Cardiff campgrounds surf. There was certainly a hefty crowd of novice level surfers out there, but the vibes were high and the board perfect for the soft conditions. I’m convinced you rarely need an actual “shortboard” in North County, San Diego, and this board proved my point, turning an otherwise gutless day of groveling into something really fun.—Zander Mortoncisurfboards.com

SoloShot
Camp Shred was the perfect medium for surfboard and wetsuit brands to get people in and on top of their gear, but another big hit over the weekend was the Solo Shot “automatic cameraman.” Simply attach the Solo Shot to a tripod and camera, sync it up with the included waterproof wristband and it’ll follow you around all day, filming every second of your surf. I watched the contraption, left to its own devices, document quite a few folks’ sessions, and most every surfer was thrilled with the results.—ZMSoloshot.com

JS Rock-N-Roll 5’6” x 19 1/2” 2 3/8” volume 26.4 L
Super fun board, nice and thick in the middle and paddled great, while the rails were full but trimmed down just enough to do some high performance type turns. The main thing that struck me was how incredibly squirty the thing was through flat sections, it was a trip. Felt like the perfect balance between generating tons of speed in small (1–3 foot), gutless surf, while also feeling like you could rip a nice solid turn on it, too.—Casey Koteenjsindustries.com

Hayden Shapes Hypto Krypto 5’4” x 19 1/2” x 2 3/8”
I went up to the Hayden booth to try a board, and as luck would have it, Hayden himself was just walking up after a surf. He ended up graciously lending me his board to try, a 5’4” pintailed beauty. It’s a thruster, with a wide nose, and a slightly pulled in tail. The thing paddled and caught waves really well. It shot off the bottom, and generated plenty of speed even in the ultra gutless 1–2 foot slop. I’d like to tell you it went off the top well, too, but there just wasn’t any “top” to hit on the peak I was sitting at. I will say that a lot of small wave boards tend to top out in chest high or bigger surf, but this board felt like it was more versatile, and could handle plenty of juice, as well. Given some of the vids I’ve seen of Craig Anderson riding it in large, grinding surf, it seems well capable. It seems like a great multi-talented board, I’d definitely like to have some more time on it.—CKhaydenshapes.com

Firewire Dominator FST 5’4” x 19 1/4” x 2 1/4” Volume: 25.7 L
I rode the Dominator as a three fin, although it can be ridden as a quad too. The surf was 2–3 foot, windswell peaks, and the Dominator made short work of it. I dug this board, it zipped through mushy flat sections as you’d expect, but also pivoted really well when a steeper section popped up. It felt skatey and fast, easy to put on rail and off the top like a shortboard. It’s no wonder this thing is one of Firewire’s best sellers.—CKfirewiresurfboards.com

Hydro Flex …Lost Black Sheep 5’4” x 18.74 x 2.13”
The Black Sheep is a fast board, super light, good for small waves, and easy to stay in the pocket on. It’s a hybrid of the …Lost Sub Scorcher and Rocket that features a wide swallowtail and nose and not a lot of rocker—the perfect blend to create a small wave shred machine.—Pedro Fernandezhydroflex-surfboards.com